Fund Story:
Dr. Vincent “Tito” Sison was born on July 22, 1929, in Manila, Philippines. He married Rose S. Dorado in 1952 and had five children: Marissa Sison Manlove, Sheila Sison Spangler, Steven Vincent Sison, Scott Victor Sison and Sidney David Sison.
Upon graduating in 1955 with a degree of Doctor of Medicine from University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Dr. Sison and his family emigrated to the United States. The Sisons lived in the Midwest (Missouri, Kansas and Illinois) and Montreal, Canada before permanently settling in Terre Haute, Indiana. In 1967, Dr. Sison joined private practice in orthopedic surgery with Drs. Topping, Kable and Burkle.
Dr. Sison was proud of his Filipino heritage and, after becoming a naturalized citizen in 1972, was equally proud of his U.S. Citizenship. He considered Terre Haute to be his adopted home and was instrumental in encouraging and sponsoring other Filipino physicians to move to Terre Haute to practice medicine.
An early adopter of technology, Dr. Sison owned the first version of a “cell” phone, first Atari home computer and home video game system – whatever the newest technology. It was this comfort with technology that attributed to him being one of the first physicians to learn and use arthroscopic surgery techniques in the region.
Family was everything to Dr. Sison, and he instilled in them a passion for the medical field. Daughter Sheila and granddaughter Amanda are nurses specializing in ER nursing and NICU (newborn intensive care unit), respectively; son Steve in the medical research field; and daughter Marissa began her career as a school psychologist specializing in working with individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities.
When Dr. Sison passed away on February 1, 2000 from complications of surgery to remove a cancerous tumor, his colleagues at Regional Hospital sought a way to remember the considerate and patient teacher, mentor and friend. They created the Vincent G. Sison M.D. Memorial Nursing Scholarship Fund within the Wabash Valley Community Foundation to memorialize their colleague and the impact he had on the Terre Haute community. The fund provides support for educational scholarships for students who are accepted into and attend accredited two- or four-year public or private institutions of higher learning, and in particular to such students who have been admitted to a nursing program leading to a baccalaureate or associate degree as a registered nurse.
Through this fund, Dr. Sison’s legacy and love for Terre Haute will live on in perpetuity.
